I have been doing some research and what I plan to do is wax my car by hand but there are millions of products it seems. What do you all recommend? I looked at this is it worth it, should i get individual products, or something else?

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/mercha...Product_Count=2

 

Z2
ZFX
Z6

Are all you really need. You can get the rest of the stuff cheaper. get Clay Magic at Autozone and pick up a gallon of car wash... Meg's Gold Class is decent.

 

Thx man

 

i recommend the zaino clay bar- zaino uses flat rate shipping so if it fits in the box it ships. plus you get twice as much clay as you do with the meguires or mothers and it is a couple dollars cheaper. but if you are going to get all that stuff you might as well get the total car protection kit
incase you can't tell i am a huge zaino fan- plus their leather products are really good too.

 

I have been using Zaino for years. Let me go ahead and point out some pro's and con's for you.

Pro's:
-It seems to last forever
-It gives a good shine
-Leather care is awesome
-A clay bar is a clay bar, until you start getting into different grades. This is average, but you do get twice as much for half the price.
-I do like their detail spray


Cons:
-It is very expensive
-It is one of the hardest waxes to put on and take off that I have ever used in my life. It's a huge PITA.
-You have to mix the wax, in a bottle, with ZFX flash cure. Time consuming.
-If the temperature isn't just right, it takes forever for the ZFX to work with the wax

With all this being said, I still use Zaino. I hate using it because of the big PITA it is to use. It does prove to offer a longer protection than a lot of waxes I have found though. If you absolutely have to have Zaino, then you need Z2 (if you have a clear coated car), Z3 (for a non clear coated car), Z5 for minor swirls (although I've never seen it remove swirls), Z18 clay bar, and optional detail spray (Z6).

If you want to give something else a try, I recommend P21S (doesn't last a long time, but offers a good shine), Werkstat Acrylic Jett Trigger for a paint sealant (this is very cheap, the easiest thing to use in the history of sealants/waxes, and seems to last a good while). I'll be trying out Blackfire Wet Diamond soon as well.

Goodluck with what you decide.

 

Great info.

I've never tried Zaino myself. The naming convention makes me angry - they can't call something "Sealant," they have to call it "Z12345" or some such thing. And they call products that aren't polish, polish. I hate that. I'm also put off by the mixing routine that you described. I don't want to be bothered with playing chemistry set when I detail. I much prefer products that work properly straight out of the container. That's just me. I know a lot of people love the stuff and get great results out of it.

Anyway, +1 on the Acrylic Jett Trigger recommendation. That stuff is so easy to use that it feels like cheating. Like, "this can't possibly work." It does. It's an excellent sealant.

 

The Z12345 was a little confusing at first, but after a few hours of looking at it, it's not hard to understand. The mixing routine gets a lot easier as you get used to it. Pour a little Z2 in a mixing bottle (about enough to fill it halfway), and put about 4 drops of ZFX in it. Shake it for 30-60 seconds. Is this hard to do? No. Is it harder to do than just opening a can of wax and wiping it on? Definitely. I have always gotten great results from Zaino though.

 

 

It's really not that difficult. IMO it seems silly to dismiss a product without trying it based on its name but to each his own.

 

Really? One of the hardest to use? I totally disagree, Zaino is one of the easiest to use. Sounds like you are applying it too thick. Thin light coats ftw!